Screwing the Rules, Literally
by silkdior
Summary: In which Taylor McKessie, president of East High's science club, finds herself tutoring the little sister of East High's basketball vice-captain, Chad Danforth. Chaylor/Troyella.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello! This is a story that popped into my head and I've been meaning to write it for a while. I'm not really following a set storyline, so I'll just write what feels right to me at that particular moment. Feel free to suggest plot ideas!**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

"Honey! Hurry up or you'll be late for school!"

"Coming, dad!"

17-year-old Taylor McKessie took one last look in the mirror and sighed as she put down the bottle of foundation she had been using just moments ago.

No, she was not doing her daily makeup routine - heck, it was only last month when she learnt that a 'contouring kit' was not a pack of shape moulds (much to her surprise and also - embarrassment).

But, hey - you could hardly blame her. As one of the smartest kids in her year and, not to mention, the president of East High's science club, no one really cared if she looked hot or not. Those that did (namely the jocks and cheerleaders) didn't matter to her anyway.

She poked at the spot on her cheek and frowned.

"Out of all the days to get a spot, sheesh…"

"Tay?"

Taylor snapped her hand away from her face and whipped round.

"Have you started to wear make-up?"

"Ugh, as if," Taylor sighed as she rolled her eyes at her older sister standing by her doorway, a big bag of clothes in her arms. "I'm just covering a spot on my face. Not everyone can look as good as you without makeup, Tiff."

"I agree," she replied with a giggle, "and to get a spot on picture day, too."

Taylor scoffed. ''Tell me something I don't know.''

''I didn't know you owned makeup. Did you finally take your big sister's boy advice?''

"No," she replied, "Gabriella got me this 'Maybeleese' foundation for my birthday last month."

Tiffany remained silent for a few seconds before bursting out into laughter. ''You mean 'Maybelline'?''

Taylor raised a brow. ''No, I'm definitely sure it's-'' she took a peek at the bottle and pulled a face, ''...Maybelline.''

"Makeup is _so_ wasted on you, Tay," Tiffany said mockingly and strode over to where Taylor was standing.

''Back off, Tiff-Piff,'' Taylor giggled and stuck her tongue out.

''Alright, alright,'' she laughed and sat down on the bed. ''But really, any cute boys catch your interest lately?''

''What? Ugh, not this again, sis! I've already told you, I-''

''You're an attractive girl, Tay. High school's almost over, you might as well-''

''Exactly. High school is almost over. What's the point?''

''Don't be so boring, little sister!''

''I'm not! It's just that I'm so busy with the science club and helping out with East High's mathletes that I have no time."

Tiffany just stared at Taylor and then rolled her eyes. "Sheesh, you and I couldn't be more different if we tried."

Taylor glared at her and shrugged. "Also, I don't need a boyfriend. I can take care of myself just fine."

''Yes, Taylor,'' Tiffany rolled her eyes, ''yes, I _know_ you can take care of yourself just fine. Anyways, that's not the reason why I'm here. This,'' she plonked a big bag of clothes down onto Taylor's bed, ''is a bag filled with my old clothes. I found it when I was clearing the loft out.''

Taylor tentatively picked something out of the bag and held it up.

''Wow...a vintage leopard print tank top...'' she slowly said, ''...please don't say you want to give these clothes to me. I have enough.''

''No, silly!'' she laughed, ''I know these aren't your style. Heck, looking back on them now makes me want to cringe as well. No, I need to you to take these to the nearest charity shop and donate them for me. It's towards a good cause and I figure it's better than just throwing them out.'' She watched as Taylor pulled out a pair of neon-orange leggings and blanched, ''...As much as I want to throw them out, believe me.''

''But can't you take them?'' Taylor asked as she held up a bright yellow top up. ''I have to do some reading in the library after school today and then I need to go to Starbucks to apply for their new vaccancy.''

Tiffany rolled her eyes. ''Really, Taylor? Reading in the library after school? You know, when I was your age, I was going to parties and-''

''Sis!'' Taylor interrupted. ''I need to get this reading done for next week!''

''Next _week_ , Taylor? That's ages away!''

''But I have other homework to do as well-''

''Taylor. I have to go back up to university today, remember? I can't take it today.''

Taylor looked at her sister and sighed. ''Oh, yeah. Forgot your term breaks were so short.''

''Hey, hey! I'll come back and visit soon, yeah? It'll be the holidays before you know it, Tay.''

Taylor glanced back and forth between the huge bag of clothes and a pouting Tiffany before rolling her eyes and sighing loudly.

''Fine. I'll take these to the charity shop after school.''

''Thanks, Tay!'' Tiffany squealed as she hugged Taylor. "I'm going to fix some breakfast for us now. See you down in ten?"

"Yeah, I'll be down in a bit."

Taylor took one more peek in the bag and grimaced.

''Oh my lord...'' she whispered as she pulled out a camouflage-print thong.

* * *

"I looked at this question over and over again and it still doesn't make sense! You see my notes? And this is why X can't equal Y times eight plus the square root of C because-"

Gabriella stopped mid-sentence and waved a hand in front of Taylor's face.

"Hello? Earth to Taylor?"

Taylor blinked and found herself only centimetres away from bumping noses with Gabriella.

"Taylor? Can you hear me?"

"Uh, yeah, sorry."

"You okay?" Gabriella asked.

"Yeah, sorry. I was just thinking about what topic to discuss for the next science club debate."

Gabriella gave a knowing smile. "Taylor, relax! That's over two weeks away. You work yourself way too hard all the time."

Taylor glared at her playfully. "I don't know what you're talking about."

''Oh, Taylor!'' she laughed. ''Sometimes _I_ think I work too hard, but it's nothing compared to you.''

Taylor flipped her hair behind her shoulders. ''Well, I'm not the head of the science club for no reason.''

Gabriella broke out into a grin and both girls giggled to themselves.

They had been standing in line to get their pictures taken for almost half an hour now, and Taylor was beginning to grow bored. She could be studying right now.

''I just need to put my math homework away,'' Gabriella mumbled and took her bag off her shoulders. ''Can you unzip it for me, please?''

''Sure,'' Taylor said and pulled the zip on Gabriella's bag.

''Thanks. Oh, in fact I want to show you my English essay. It was quite difficult to research, but I managed to-''

Taylor watched in horror as Gabriella swung the bag a little _too_ hard off her shoulders and collided with something heavy, followed by a loud 'plop' noise.

''Oh my gosh,'' Gabriella said as she turned round and found her bag (or rather, the contents of her bag) all over the floor along with what appeared to be the contents of someone else's bag, too. ''I'm so sorry, I'm-''

Both Taylor and Gabriella looked up and found a brown-haired boy looking at the scattered books and paper on the floor in shock. Taylor immediately put her guard up when she recognised his red and white sports uniform (after all, the basketball team's faces were plastered all over the school, annoyingly enough) and prepared herself to stand up for her best friend if he was going to shout at her for not 'watching where she was going' or something.

''I-I should've watched where I was going-'' Gabriella began, her hands shaking in fear - they'd heard rumours about East High's basketball team picking on those that dared get in their way and, right now, Gabriella was in definitely his way - quite literally. ''I'm-''

''No, no, don't worry about it. It was me that wasn't watching where I was going,'' he replied with an apologetic smile.

Taylor raised a brown in surprise and watched as basketball-boy began to awkwardly sift through the papers on the floor, a shaken Gabriella watching him.

She was expecting him to be angry, aggressive and rude but...here he was, handing Gabriella back her notes like a true gentleman.

Needless to say, the kids around them watched in awe as Gabriella, a relatively unknown bookworm whose 15-minutes-of-fame included being the first person in East High to win the 'Most Promising Medicine Student in Albuquerque' award and getting tripped over by the head cheerleader during her first term, interacted with who could only be described as the most sought-after boy at East High.

Taylor saw that some colour had seeped into Gabriella's cheeks and held back a smile.

''Well then, I need to get going. Sorry again for running into you,'' he said as he swung his own backpack around his shoulders. Gabriella could only nod slowly and stayed rooted to the spot until he walked out of sight. She sighed and began to wobble around.

''Gabriella!'' Taylor gasped when she began to take a few steps back uneasily. ''You okay? Are you hurt?''

''Just...just a little shaken, that's all.''

''Do you need some water?''

The sudden sound of an annoyingly high-pitched squeal caught both Taylor's and Gabriella's attention.

''No, friggin', _way_! As if that just happened!''

Taylor turned to find a girl with blonde hair and green eyes glaring at them both, her hands on her hips. She immediately rolled her eyes and shot Gabriella an 'I'm-so-done' look. There was no mistaking that outfit - she was an East High cheerleader.

''Can we help you?'' Taylor said coolly as she pulled Gabriella close and checked her for any injuries. ''You okay, Gabi?''

''Y-yeah, I-I'm fine,'' she answered weakly.

Cheerleader-girl scoffed. ''You _do_ realise who you just ran into, right?''

Taylor narrowed her eyes at her. '' _Actually,_ he ran into her and no, we don't know who he is. Sorry!'' she giggled sarcastically.

The girl's face changed from contempt to to absolute disbelief and an audible wave of gasps were heard around them.

''They don't know Troy Bolton?''

''They must live under a rock!''

''Isn't that...the girl from the science club or something?''

''I don't know, but how could she not know Troy Bolton?''

''You don't know Troy _Bolton_?'' she screeched. '' _THE_ Troy Bolton? Are you retarded or something?''

''Taylor, let's just leave it...'' Gabriella said quietly.

Taylor raised a brow. ''Oh, honey,'' she began, ''excuse me but I don't spend the majority of my time pining over our school's basket-head team. I actually study. You should try it sometime, considering your efforts of getting Troy Bilton or whatever his name is to notice you isn't really working, is it, um...'' she paused and thought for a moment, ''um...what's your name?''

She opened her mouth and scoffed loudly, followed by a series of mumurs from the people behind her.

''My name is Emily! Emily Hayton! Voted Prettiest Cheerleader at East High two years in a row? I'm also nominated for homecoming queen, thanks.''

Taylor raised her brows and murmured to herself, ''Wow, people must be blind.''

''What?''

''Nothing! Nothing.''

''Oh, and I'll have you know that Troy _does_ know me! He even said 'hi' to me yesterday in the cafeteria!'' she announced smugly.

''Good for you,'' Taylor replied sarcastically, ''I can hear wedding bells already.''

''And, I'm not actually after Troy _Bolton_ thank you very much. I'm actually interested in his best friend and co-team captain, Chad Danforth. You _must've_ heard of him, right?'' she asked with a flick of her hair over her shoulders.

Everyone watched her in admiration but Taylor just simply rolled her eyes and held Gabriella even tighter.

''Nope,'' she said, popping the 'p'. ''No idea who Chad or whatever his name was, is.''

Emily let out a big sigh and shook her head. ''I didn't expect you to geeks to know anything. Chad Danforth is the school basketball team's _vice-captain._ ''

''Okay.'' Taylor muttered. ''And?''

''And we've been talking and messaging each other for a while now, I'd say, maybe...three, four months?'' she turned round and nodded at the looks of jealousy she was receiving. ''Yeah, it's getting pretty serious, I'd say.''

Taylor and Gabriella awkwardly looked at each other.

''Why is she even telling us this?'' Gabriella whispered.

''I have no idea,'' Taylor replied. ''Maybe she needs confirmation that she's cool.''

''I'm telling you this because I don't want you two meddling with me and Chad, got it?''

Taylor stared at her incredulously. ''And why would we do that?''

''I saw the way Gabriella was ogling at Troy when he helped her pick her things up which, by the way, he was actually just trying to pick his own things up and hers happened to be the ones he picked up because she had to go and trip him up - she probably planned this to talk to Troy-''

Taylor felt anger begin to bubble inside of her - it was one thing picking on her, but picking on Gabriella was another.

''Oh, shut _up!_ '' Taylor hissed. ''He was the one who walked into _her_ , and ogling at your beloved Mr. Basketball is the _last_ thing she has on her mind. No one cares if you're going to date Chad whatever-his-name is. Oh, and by the way, I think you may want to tone the makeup down a bit. The clown convention was last week.''

A series of gasps were heard, and Emily widened her eyes.

''How dare you!''

Taylor smiled. ''But, you know, if clown makeup is what you're going for then you've nailed it. Good job, honey.''

Emily was at a loss for words. ''Well, I, you're just...ugh!''

''By the way, the line behind you moved ages ago. You're gonna miss your photo slot, clown-face,'' Taylor said and pointed behind her. Emily whipped round and shot the duo a death glare before hurridley running away, the sound of her little heels going 'click-click' serving as music to Taylor's ears. The circle that had encircled them now dispersed quickly - probably to talk about the exchange that just happened.

''Talk about desperate for attention,'' Taylor muttered as a student walked past her to return to his original position, ''Right, Gabs?''

She turned to find Gabriella on the verge of tears.

''Gabs!?''

''How - how could she say that?'' Gabriella sniffled into her cardigan sleeve. ''I didn't trip Troy up on purpose - I swear!''

''I know you didn't, silly. Emily's just exaggerating because she's jealous _she_ wasn't the one Troy was talking to.''

Gabriella nodded and wiped a tear away.

''But,'' Taylor wiggled her brows suggestively, ''I did see you go a bit red when he was helping you. A little crush, Gabriella?''

Gabriella began to panic. ''No, not a crush! But I saw him on a poster outside the gymnasium last term and thought he was kind of...well...cute?''

''Oh, Gabriella!'' Taylor laughed, ''I can't deny the boy isn't good-looking. I wasn't expecting him to be so nice, too.''

''Yeah, he was, wasn't he...''

Taylor quickly decided to change the subject - she couldn't have her best friend falling for a guy with as high as status as Troy Bolton, especially if it meant dealing with the backlash of bitter cheerleaders like Emily. After all, all he did was run into her and help her pick up her stuff. It wasn't like he was going to see - or even speak to - her ever again.

''So, you were saying? About your English essay?''

''Huh? Oh,'' Gabriella mumbled, cheeks a little red from thinking about the incident that happened only moments ago between her and Troy, ''right, right, my essay. I wanted to show you the essay I did on Oscar Wilde and the use of imagery in his poetry.''

She fumbled around in her bag for her English folder. Pulling out a bright yellow ring binder, she opened it up and flipped to the section with a bright pink sticker that said 'ESSAYS' on it. ''I found some poems that were pretty good to analyse, you know, things that included a lot of..." Gabriella trailed off.

Taylor waited patiently. ''Let's see then.''

"Wait a minute,'' she frowned, ''this isn't my homework."

Taylor took the piece of paper from her hands and quickly glanced at it. "I should hope not. Look at that awful handwriting. What does this even say? A..story of..Eggs?"

Gabriella bit her lip and moved in to read the writing. "A study of Edgar Allen Poe and 19th century gothic literature."

Taylor looked at her friend. "You never studied Poe."

Gabriella widened her eyes. "Isn't...one of the other classes in our year studying Poe?"

"Yeah, I think so. I vaguely remember Kelsi saying they was studying gothic literature in her English class."

Gabriella fumbled around some more in her folder. ''Well then where's my essay?''

Taylor scanned the piece of paper. ''Whoever this essay belongs to proably has your essay as well.''

"Oh no, this is bad," Gabriella began to panic and started sifting through her massive ring binder. "I don't even know who it belongs to. I need my essay back, I had a ton of things to change about it.''

Taylor watched in amusement as her best friend began looking on the floor in hope to retrieve the lost piece of paper.

''You know,'' Taylor began.

''What? Know what? Oh, Taylor! What do I do? That essay is really important, and-''

''I bet Troy _Bolton_ has it.''

Gabriella blinked at Taylor. ''W-what! N-no he doesn't.''

''Think about it, Gabi. You had your English essay up until you bumped into Mr. Big-shot-basketball a few minutes ago, and now you can't find your essay. Not only that, but you have someone else's essay. I'd say there's a pretty big chance he has it. Unless...'' she nonchalantly said.

Gabriella was listening attentively, hoping that anyone but Troy had it.

''Unless what? What?''

Taylor leaned in. ''Unless you managed to write an essay about Poe and gothic literature in your sleep?''

Gabriella groaned. ''Ugh, Taylor!''

''I'm pretty sure Kelsi mentioned some of the basketball team is in her class.''

''What!'' Gabriella said. ''What should I do? Oh, no! He's going to be so angry!''

''Look, Gabi, chill. Okay? I'll come with you to find him at the end of the day, alright?''

''I-I mean, I don't want to, but - essay, I need, and-''

''Gabriella!'' Taylor reprimanded.

Gabriella went silent.''O-okay.''

Taylor smiled. ''Don't worry, he won't be angry. He seemed nice enough.''

''Do we a have Taylor McKessie? You're next in line for your photo.''

''Oh, I have to go, Gabi. See you at lunch?''

''Y-yeah, see you at lunch.''

* * *

''Kelsi, is Troy Bolton in your class?''

Kelsi stopped mid-chew and stared straight back at Taylor, who was currently doing her maths homework.

''What?''

''I asked,'' she repeated, not looking up, ''if Troy Bolton is in your class.''

''Uh, yeah, he is...'' she replied suspiciously, taking another bite of her tuna pasta. ''Why?''

''A certain _someone_ bumped into him this morning and managed to mix their essays up, didn't they, Gabriella?''

Gabriella put her fork down and glared at Taylor. ''Taylor, shush! Not so loud!''

''You have Troy Bolton's essay?'' Kelsi asked with a gasp.

''Kelsi, shush! Not so loud!''

''Isn't he going to be really angry with her, Taylor? What if he thinks she stole it on purpose? You know how crazy fangirls can be. Oh, no, what to do...''

''Everyone chill,'' Taylor said as she put her apple down. ''Firstly, no one can hear us, Gabriella. Secondly, Troy seemed really nice. He actually _apologized_ for bumping into Gabriella and even said that it was his fault,'' she finished with a raise of her brow and leaned over to grab her water bottle.

''Really?'' Kelsi asked in surprise. ''Phew. For a moment there, you had me worried that the basketball team were going to start picking on Gabriella. I mean, you know about Sharpay.''

Gabriella suddenly widened her eyes and looked at Taylor worriedly. ''Who's Sharpay?''

Taylor's eyes lit up. ''Oh, I've heard about her! Isn't she the overly-dramatic musical girl?''

''Yeah, she is. I have rehearsals with her all the time.''

''Who's Shar...poo?''

''No, no,'' Taylor laughed, ''Shar _pay,_ Gabi.''

Gabriella looked at Kelsi and Taylor's laughing faces in confusion. ''Who is she?''

''She's this girl who has the _biggest_ crush on Troy-'' Kelsi began.

''Like, even I know about it and I don't really care for gossip-'' Taylor interrupted.

''And it's just funny watching Sharpay continuously trying to win Troy over but she fails every time.''

''Yeah. The basketball team don't exactly _pick_ on her, but they do make it clear they don't like her very much.''

Kelsi nodded. ''It's hard to like Sharpay.''

''Oh, right...'' Gabriella trailed off, poking at her cheese salad. Taylor sensed her fear and put an arm on her back.

''Don't worry, Gabi. You don't have to go find him alone, I can go with you.''

Gabriella sniffled and smiled at her. ''Thank you, Taylor. You can come with me to find him at the end of the day, right?''

''Sure! Of course I-''

 _''Fine. I'll take these to the charity shop after school.''_

Oh, crap. How could she forget! She had to lug her sister's ugly clothes all the way to her local charity shop after school.

''Actually, Gabi,'' Taylor began to say with a grimace on her face, ''I can't go with you after school.''

''W-what!'' Gabriella gasped. ''Why not?''

''I promised my sister I'd run an errand for her.''

Best not to mention the ugly clothes, she told herself.

Gabriella smiled weakly. ''Oh, that's okay. I'm sure Kelsi can come with me instead, right, Kelsi?''

Kelsi was already looking at Gabriella apologetically and shrugged her shoulders. ''Sorry, Gabi. I have a musical rehearsal tonight with Shar...'' she giggled, ''...poo.''

Gabriella groaned and shoved a forkful of lettuce into her mouth. ''What am I going to do!''

''Honestly, Gabi, you'll be fine going by yourself.'' Kelsi placed a hand on Gabriella's arm. ''I know they seem intimidating, but they're probably not as bad as people make them out to be.''

Gabriella nodded. ''I guess so.''

Taylor was just about to take another bite out of her apple before she looked at her watch and groaned.

Kelsi looked up from her own plate. ''What's up, Tay?''

''I've got to go to the library to study now.''

''What, now? It's barely halfway through lunch!''

''I know, but since I have to run an errand for my sister after school it means I won't have time to study in the library, hence why I have to do it now.''

''Wow,'' Kelsi and Gabriella giggled to each other, ''talk about being a dedicated student.''

''Shut up you guys,'' Taylor snapped and rolled her eyes. ''See you later.''

Taylor threw the remnants of her lunch into the nearest bin and began to make her way over to the cafeteria exit. She needed to get through five chapters of her biology book before she could even _think_ about going home if she wanted to achieve an A+ on this week's homework.

''Today's just not my day...'' she muttered to herself. Her phone started vibrating and she hastily pulled it out of her pocket.

 _Ping! You have received 1 new text message._

 ** _Hey Tay! It's yo sistaaaa, just a heads up you have to take another 2 bags of clothes to the charity shop after school - sorry, baby sis!_**

She groaned as she opened the cafeteria door. ''This is so stupid-''

Her rant was cut short when she found herself colliding with something, or rather, some _one_ rock solid. Her eyes squeezed shut as she braced for a heavy fall but instead, found herself being held up by a pair of strong arms.

She was pressed up against their chest (and from what she could feel, it was pretty toned), and her hands were clinging onto their shirt.

 _This person smells so nice..._

''You okay?''

She could feel the vibrations of his voice against her skin and she couldn't find the energy to talk or move.

''Uh...'' she breathed.

Sure, Taylor always voiced her absolute opposition to mingling with the opposite sex, especially after witnessing girls in her class walk in on random mornings with mascara running own their cheeks and crying about 'lost love' and whatnot. It was pitiful. She didn't have an interest in boys, and she was fine that they didn't have an interest in her either.

But she was beginning to question that now.

Her heart thumped at how firm this person's arms around her felt, not to mention he was gripping onto her very tightly, as if in some sort of protective embrace.

It was only then did she realise that she was perhaps enjoying this quick interaction a little _too_ much. For goodness' sake, this stranger was only helping her not fall flat on her face and embarrass herself!

She was about to quickly detangle herself from the nice-smelling stranger (after all, standing in the cafeteria smelling someone you just ran into is a bit weird) when he let go of her and wordlessly walked away, leaving Taylor rooted to the spot in a daze.

She stared at the door.

Did that just happen?

A whole ten seconds had passed before she finally managed to work up the courage to turn around - but by then, her target was long gone. Instead, she was faced with a big cluster of students waiting in the dinner queue.

''Oh my gosh, Taylor. You're overreacting. You're not going to do a Gabriella,'' she muttered to herself as she remembered how Gabriella reacted to Troy Bolton earlier this morning. ''No boys, remember? Only studying.''

Pushing open the doors to the cafeteria once more (this time sans the awkward run-in with a stranger), Taylor McKessie groaned as she exited the hall, her mind once again filled with chemistry equations, biology books, and big bags of ugly clothing.

* * *

His hands were still tingling from when he let go of her arms.

''Dude, are you okay?''

Chad Danforth turned his head away from the door of the cafeteria and glanced at a concerned Zeke.

''Uh, yeah, it's nothing,'' he said as he shook his head.

''Do you think that girl just ran into you on purpose?'' Zeke laughed.

Chad shrugged. ''Who knows.''

His stomach was still fluttering with a feeling he couldn't pinpoint.

Interacting with girls wasn't anything new for Chad Danforth, vice-captain of the basketball team - in fact, it was a regular thing when you're as popular as East High's basketball team. Fangirls weren't a rare sight and Chad had experienced girls trying to kiss him out of the blue on multiple occasions. Therefore, he found it unusual that a random girl who had no intentions to try anything on with him (from the way she ran into him, you'd think she was trying to tackle him down), sparked a little something in his stomach and ignited through his body.

She had smelt... _intoxicating._ It was a soft scent of roses - much like the ones his mum kept in the garden when he was a little boy.

So that must be why he reacted the way he did - she smelt familiar. She smelt like _home._

But that didn't explain why he liked the feeling of her innocently clinging onto his shirt.

''Yo, Chad, what's the hold-up?'' he heard Zeke call from half-way across the room.

He quickly blinked and shook his head. ''Coming!''

After two steps, he felt something hard under his shoe. Lifting his foot up, he found a small, green phone charm. This must've been from when he bumped into the girl - whilst he didn't get a look at her face, he remembered seeing a cell phone in her hand.

''Chad?''

It must've been a spur of the moment sort of thing, for Chad Danforth never pined over a stranger like this - after all, he was picking up a phone charm off the middle of the cafeteria floor for them. Sneaking a glance at Zeke and making sure he wasn't looking, Chad quickly bent down and pocketed the item.

''Wait up!'' he called and jogged over to Zeke. Together they fell into a gentle stroll towards their usual lunch table - a big table in the far corner, reserved specially for the Wildcats (and the occasional cheerleader girlfriend, of course).

''You ready for basketball practice tonight? Man, I gotta practice my hoop shooting. I can't believe I missed that last shot in the match against Westfield High last weekend. I'm still really bitter about it.''

''Yeah, dude, I am. Mrs. Darbus gave me a hard time in English today so I just need to shoot some hoops.''

''Ah, speaking of hard time,'' Zeke said, ''I heard that some geeks were arguing with Emily this morning when we were waiting for our photos.'' He paused and waited for Chad to react.

''What about?''

Zeke shrugged. ''I can't remember, but I saw Emily crying in the hallway after second period.''

Chad thought for a few moments over what he was going to say. He wasn't sure whether he felt anger or concern or just nothing at all.

''Aren't you angry?'' Zeke asked with a confused expression. ''I mean, that's your girlfriend, man.''

Chad shook his head. ''She's not my girlfriend, Zeke. We've just been hanging out for a while but I don't know if I like her like that.''

''Well, you better figure it out asap because she's walking right this way.'' Both boys turned to find an overly-smiley Emily skip over towards them. Zeke patted him on the back. ''I'm off to buy lunch now, see you, dude!''

Chad nodded at his friend before turning back round to find Emily smiling up at him.

''Chad!'' Emily said excitedly. ''Come on!'' She grabbed his hand and led him to their regular lunch table.

''Hey Chad,'' the other members of the team greeted him as he sat down.

''Hey, guys,'' he replied.

''I've been wanting to talk to you all day, Chad,'' Emily pouted, flicking her long hair over her shoulders and tapping her mannicured nails on the table.

He nodded and slid his arm around her. ''How've you been?''

''Ugh, my day could've been better,'' she grumbled and messed around with his hair.

Chad frowned. ''What happened?''

''These two girls from the school science club or something thought that they could try and make a move on Troy, but I saw through them and confronted them about it. But they got all defensive, saying that _I_ wanted Troy when in fact, I want you, Chad!''

He paused for a moment before saying, ''I know you do, Emily.''

She giggled and snuggled closer into him. ''So apart from realising that the science club is full of weirdos, my day's been pretty good. What about you?''

He shrugged. ''It's been alright. Classes are boring, but that's nothing out of the ordinary.''

''Oh, Chad,'' she laughed, ''you're so funny!''

He remained still as she buried her head closer into his chest, the warmth of her breathing tickling his chin. Her scent - a mix of blueberries and vanilla - wafted underneath his nose and he found himself shying away from the smell.

He'd been talking to Emily ever since she practically threw herself on him at a party a couple months back, but he was still trying to work out if he liked her or not. Sure, she was pretty - admittedly, one of the prettiest girls in the school - and she could be nice and hold down a decent conversation when she was alone with him. However, she would always be excessively loud and annoying whenever they were in public together. It felt like she was putting on a show for others to marvel at her popularity, and he was only boosting it.

''Chad, did you hear me?''

Chad blinked and found Emily poking his cheek with her finger.

''Sorry, what?''

''I _said,_ do you want to go see a move with me tomorrow?''

He was going to think about his decision for a moment to weight out the pros (popcorn!) and cons (missing basketball practice), but found that everyone on his table were staring at him.

He sighed - he couldn't let a girl down in front of everyone like this.

''Sure,'' he shrugged, ''I'd love to.''

''Great!'' she said loudly. ''It's a date.''

He almost winced, and nodded. ''Yeah.''

* * *

''Ugh, I hate you, Tiffany!'' Taylor grumbled to herself as she wiped some sweat off her face. As soon as the bell rung to signal the end of school, she made a dash for it (people probably thought she was insane, but, whatever) and now found herself panting as she saw her street name approaching.

She legged the last few minutes to her house in an admirable time and almost fell down onto the floor when she jerked the key out of the keyhole.

Quickly glancing at the clock, she realised she had exactly half an hour to lug all the bags of clothes to the nearest charity shop (which was a five-minute-walk away) and get herself ready to go to Starbucks - they recently put out an ad for a new part-time vacancy and Taylor needed the money to buy more textbooks. Sighing, she ran up the stairs and flung the bedroom door open. She almost shuddered at the sight of her sister's old clothes but instead grabbed them all and then ran downstairs, where she then kicked her school backpack aside and dragged the bags through the front door.

The bags weren't too big or heavy per say, but Taylor found herself growing increasingly tired as she walked down road after road, eyes looking out for the sign that read 'Angela's Attic'. She'd been in there a few times before to purchase science textbooks, but this was the first time she was actually going to donate anything.

''They're probably going to think these are mine...'' she muttered, glaring at a pink leg warmer sticking out of the bag.

Finally, a small shop with big fancy letters came into view.

 _ANGELA'S ATTIC._

She almost sighed in relief - she finally made it.

Pushing open the door to the small shop, she carefully stepped inside and made sure to drag all the bags inside with her. Much to her delight, the shop was empty - bar one old man examining an egg cup, and she quickly walked over to the counter.

''Hello,'' she said to the woman making notes at the cash register. ''I'd like to donate some things.''

The middle-aged woman looked up in surprise and smiled. ''Oh, hello.''

Taylor motioned towards the three white bags by her feet. ''My sister wanted to get rid of her old clothes and figured that it was best to donate them to charity.''

''I see,'' the woman nodded. ''Here, let me take them from you.''

Taylor nodded and lifted the bags one by one onto the counter, careful not to move the woman's notes.

''Say, you've been here before, haven't you?'' the woman asked nicely.

Taylor nodded. ''Yeah, I've bought some science books here before. I've finished reading all the ones in my school library.''

''Oh, into science?''

''Well,'' Taylor began slowly, careful not to brag, ''I'm currently the head of the science club at school.''

The woman paused for a moment and raised her brows. ''Really?''

Taylor smiled sheepishly. ''Yeah.''

The woman smiled. "Oh, I see."

"It's a lot of work running that club but I love it."

The woman remained silent for a while before saying, 'Well, you see, I have a favour to ask of you.''

Taylor looked at her and wondered how her science skills could be of any use to her. But either way, she nodded. ''Oh, um, sure.''

''I have a daughter,'' the woman started, ''and she's 11-years-old. She's been failing science at school and I've been trying to find a tutor. The only ones I can find are quite far from where we live.'' She picked up her notebook and showed Taylor the notes she had just been making, ''This person is the closest one I can find, and they're a twenty-minute drive away.''

Taylor peered at the postcode and grimaced. ''Yeah, that is far away.''

The woman continued, ''And I can pay $40 an hour for you to tutor my daughter a couple times a week.''

Taylor almost fell over. $40 dollars per _hour_? That definitely beat working at Starbucks for hours on end, Taylor noted. But still, did she want to be a tutor? Sure, she's taught kids science before through her role in the science club, but she wasn't sure if she'd do too good of a job teaching someone one-on-one.

''Um...''

''Here,'' the lady scribbled some numbers down onto a piece of paper and gave it to Taylor. ''If you are interested, give me a text.''

Taylor took the piece of paper and nodded. ''Thank you, uh...?''

''Ah, my name is Sue.''

''Thanks, Sue. I - I'll be in touch.''

''Okay. Oh, and thank _you_ for the donations!''

''Oh,'' Taylor said slowly - she had completely forgotten why she was there in the first place, ''it's okay.''

Taylor left the shop feeling slightly victorious - she had not only gotten rid of the ugly clothes her sister gave her, but she also - technically, although not yet confirmed - came out with a new job! A well paid one that involved science, too.

''Perhaps today isn't so bad after all,'' she muttered to herself, crossing the road. She'd even managed to narrowly avoid the sudden downpour of rain the moment she stepped into her front porch.

When she finally got home, she flopped down onto the sofa in the living room and yawned.

''Long day, Taylor?''

She watched as her mum walked in and set down a cup of hot chocolate in front of her.

''Yeah,'' she said, reaching for it and taking a sip. ''Although something good did happen today.''

Her mum untied the apron she was wearing and raised a brow. 'Oh, what was that?''

''The woman at Angela's Attic offered me a job to tutor her daughter today.''

''Oh, really?''

''Yeah, it's good pay, too. I'm just not sure if I'm going to be a good tutor or not.''

''What subject?''

''Science.''

Her mum put a hand on her hip. ''Taylor. You're not the head of the science club for no reason.''

''I know,'' Taylor said, ''but I don't know if I'll be any good at tutoring. Plus, what if her daughter hates me?''

''Taylor,'' her mum sighed and rolled her eyes. ''She won't. And, anyways, you can't mess up tutoring the subject you're best at, and have been the best at for the last ten years.''

Taylor sighed and peered into her hot chocolate. ''Yeah, I guess you're right.''

Her mum giggled. ''Yes, of course I am - I'm your mother.''

Taylor smiled as she watched her mum leave the room, the 'click' of the door emphasising that she was alone once again. Deciding to call Gabriella to tell her the news, Taylor quickly pulled her phone out of her pocket.

''Okay, Gabrie-'' her hand hovered over the 'call' button. ''Hmmm?''

Staring at the device in her hand, she realised the phone charm her dad got her for her birthday was no where to be seen. She groaned and felt around in her pockets to see if it had fallen in a tight spot somewhere.

Nope. She had lost it.

''This day goes from bad to good to bad to good...'' she muttered as she held the phone to her ear.

 _Ring Ring...Ring Ring..._

 _''Oh, sorry, I just need to take this call. Hello, Taylor?''_

 _''Yeah, no worries.''_

Taylor paused for a moment. Was that a guy in the background with Gabriella?

''Gabi?'' she asked suspiciously. ''Who's that?''

 _''Oh, um, that's Troy Bolton.''_

Taylor creased her brows for a moment before rembering that Gabriella had to get her essay back from him after school.

''Oh, okay. How's it going?''

 _''Well, um, we're just in a cafe right now, and-''_

''In a cafe!?''

 _''Shhh! Not so loud, Taylor. Yes, we are in a cafe right now.''_

''Why?''

 _''Well, I gave him back his essay and then we said goodbye, but it turns out we walk the same way home so he suggested we go get a coffee since the rain is too heavy for walking. Then he told me that he read my essay and it's really good.''_

Taylor scoffed and smiled. ''No way.''

 _''I know, I'm so nervous.''_

Taylor shook her head and laughed. ''Well then, I'll leave you to it. Give me the details tomorrow, got it?''

 _''Okay,''_ she heard Gabriella giggle. _''Got it.''_

She giggled once more before flipping the phone shut.

No way in a million years would she believe you if you told her that East High's basketball captain would one day ask her best friend out for a coffee - granted, the insanely heavy downpour of rain may be the biggest reason for it, but still - a coffee date is still a coffee date, right?

Stretching, she yawned and put her phone down onto the table and pulled the piece of paper out the piece of paper that Sue had given her before.

 _Sue Danforth._

She stared at it for a few minutes, still contemplating whether she should take this job or not, before reaching for her phone. She needed a job - this was a job. She needed money - this paid good money. She loved science - this job involves science. Basically everything she wanted in a job was in this job.

Working up the courage to punch the numbers into the phone, she sat patiently on the sofa and waited for the other end to pick up.

* * *

''Oh, Taylor, it's so nice to hear from you...mmhmm, mmhmm...oh, that's brilliant news! I was hoping you'd contact me.''

Chad was sitting at the dinner table with his laptop open, tuning into his mother's conversation on the phone.

''I'll text you details of where we live and what time Alana's available after school - she does a lot of after-school activities, you see...uh-huh...okay, great. Bye now!''

Chad looked up. ''Who was that, mum?''

''Hm? Oh, that was Alana's new tutor. I met her at the charity shop today and she seems like an awfully sweet girl.''

He raised a brow. ''You met her at the charity shop?''

''Oh,'' his mum shook her head, ''she was donating some things and we got chatting. She's the head of her science club at school.''

Chad suddenly had a flashback to Emily complaining to him before during school about the girls of the science club and how rude and bitchy they were. He knew he had to take anything Emily said with a grain of salt (she loved to exaggerate), but still, he should be wary - it was his baby sister they were talking about.

''As long as she doesn't go to East High, it's fine,'' he shrugged, resuming to looking at his laptop.

His mum frowned. ''Why not, dear?''

''I heard the girls from our science club aren't very nice,'' he said as he typed.

''What do you mean?''

Chad thought for a moment. Emily had told him many things about the science club girls, but none of them were really appropriate to relay to his mother.

''They don't know who the basketball team is,'' he said matter-of-factly. When Emily told him that they didn't know who he or Troy was, he couldn't help be a little insulted - who didn't know them at East High?

''Oh, sweetie,'' his mum laughed. ''Is that it? The science club isn't too commonly linked to the basetball team, Chad.''

He wanted to retort back that _everyone_ knew the basketball team at East High, but his mum was right - the science club didn't really have much to do with the basketball team.

''And they had an argument with one of the cheerleaders today.'' He carefully said.

''Did you witness this?'' his mum asked as she walked past him.

He paused. ''No.''

''Well then,'' she said with a shrug. ''Don't believe everything you hear.'' And with that, she left the room.

Chad sighed and returned to typing and staring at the screen.

 _New message from Emily._

 _I'm so psyched for our little cinema date tomorrow, babeeee_

Oh, yeah - he promised her that he'd take her to the cinema tomorrow. Chad left the window open for a while and leaned back in his chair. He bit his lip as he thought about what to do with this whole 'Emily' situation. Whilst he'd grown accustomed to talking to her practically everyday for the past few months, as well as the rumours from everyone around school that they were dating, he just wasn't sure if he wanted to break the whole thing off. He was fond of her, admittedly - they'd been speaking too long to not have grown some sort of attatchment, but he wasn't sure whether it was genuine or not.

 _Same here._ He typed back. _I have to go now._

He shut his laptop abruptly and put his chin in his hand. If he actually did break the whole thing off with Emily, he'd have to deal with a furious, livid and possibly dangerous Emily - he'd witnessed what she'd done to people she didn't like (such as this morning, where she was telling everyone the girls of the science club had secret meetings to plan how to seduce Troy). But if he didn't break it off with her and it continued, he'd still be sitting here everyday, contemplating whether to break it off or not.

He shook the troublesome thoughts from his head and decided to not break it off with Emily - well, at least any time soon.

* * *

 **A/N: Hope you enjoyed, guys! :-)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: hiya, everyone! hope you enjoy chapter two ~**

* * *

Screwing the Rules, Literally

Chapter 2

* * *

Taylor couldn't decide whether to glare daggers at Gabriella (after all, she had spent most of yesterday hanging out with the most popular basketball player in school), or smile playfully at her (after all, she had spent most of yesterday hanging out with the most popular basketball player in school).

She settled for a spot in the middle of her two conflicting emotions, although her hatred for the lunk-headed basketball team caused some venom to seep into her voice.

"And just _what_ were you doing yesterday, Gabriella Natalia Montez?"

Gabriella looked down in embarrassment and licked her lips. "Uh...we just got coffee, I guess."

Taylor raised a brow. "You guess?"

"Well, yeah. It was raining, so..."

"And all you did was drink coffee? Nothing else?"

"Well, we spoke."

Taylor rolled her eyes. "Duh, Captain Obvious, I know that. What did you talk about, though?"

"I just mentioned you, Kelsey, my parents and whatnot."

"Wow, you spend a whole hour with Mr. Super-Basketball-Jock and he didn't make you talk about how great and wonderful he is?"

Gabriella blushed. "We spoke about studying, surprisingly."

"Funny, Gabi."

"I mean," she mumbled, "he said he liked my writing technique, and that maybe some time I could..."

Taylor waited. "Could what?"

"Well, he said we could study together sometime."

Taylor looked at Gabriella as if she was the dumbest (yet most naively precious) thing in the world and scoffed.

"Oh, _hell_ no. You are not doing that, sweetie."

Gabriella looked crushed. "But, why not?"

"Don't you see, Gabi?" she sighed as she slipped into her seat in front of her best friend, "that idiot is gonna use you for better grades. You think he'd still wanna hang out with you if you got the worst grades in the school?"

"B-but-"

"And don't get me wrong, I love studying - can't get enough of it actually," Taylor flicked her hair behind her shoulder, "but Troy? The head basketball player on a study date? He only sees you as a pass for finals, Gabi. How else is he going to pass with all the basketball-lobbing he does? That boy needs a miracle, not a member of the math club."

"But, Taylor, I-"

"I know he seems nice, Gabi, but this is the basketball team we're talking about! They're the idols of the cheerleaders, the wannabes, and that drama queen, Sharpay."

Gabriella went to open her mouth and grimaced instead.

"Yeah, exactly." Taylor clicked her tongue. "You wouldn't wanna get involved even if he was the love of your life. You would be the number one target in school."

"I..." Gabriella slumped down in her seat. "I guess you're right."

"Trust me, sweetie, I'm always right," Taylor laughed and pointed to her Head of Science badge on her bag. ''I'm not the science club leader for nothing.'' She tapped her head. ''You gotta use this.'' Her hand moved to her chest. ''Not this.''

"I guess...I just..." Gabriella glanced out the window, "...interpreted it differently."

Taylor began to unpack her pens and pencils. "You're better off using those math skills of yours to earn money, not going on dates with the dumb jocks."

"Oh, that's right," Gabriella perked up, "did you accept that job in the end?"

Taylor looked up, mid-unpacking. "Uh-huh. I decided that I might as well do it. I love teaching science and the pay at Starbucks is crap anyway."

Gabriella giggled. "Good, knowing my luck you'd end up serving me and Troy at Starbucks."

Taylor frowned. "You're not seriously contemplating seeing him again, are you?"

She shrugged. "I'm not sure, but he seems sweet."

"Just wait 'til that facade fades away. They're all the same."

The bell rang for class to begin, and Gabriella and Taylor hurriedly got their French books out of their bag.

Taylor turned to Gabriella and giggled.

" _Miss Montez, I want to study with you_.'' Taylor said, mimicking Troy's deep voice. ''Voulez vous coucher avec moi ce soir?"

* * *

Chad was innocently chewing on an apple at lunch when Troy asked him one of the most absurd questions he'd ever heard in his life (well, all seventeen years of it).

"Do you..." Troy began uneasily. "Uh, well, I don't know."

"Do I what?" he replied, scanning the contents of _Basketball Weekly._

"Do you...you know..."

He glanced up from page 63 and raised an eyebrow. "Spit it out, dude."

"Do you think it'd be weird for a Wildcat and a mathlete to be friends?"

Chad almost threw his apple back up. "Wha-what did just you just say?"

Troy, sensing that Chad was going to actually hurl up his lunch, quickly laughed and waved his hands. "No, no, that's not what I meant!"

Chad glared at Troy in a dangerously suspicious manner. "Then what did you mean?"

"W-what I meant was," he laughed nervously, "was that, uh, there was a mathlete who, uh, saved me from getting...uh...run over? Yeah, that's right! And now we are friends."

Chad's jaw was wide open and threatening to hit the floor. "What the hell are you on about? Who got ran over where?"

"No, no, wait," Troy spluttered. "Let me start again."

"O-okay?"

"Right, so. Say one of the Wildcats just got talking to one of the mathlete girls, you know, since we're so popular and all," he laughed.

Chad stared at him, dead-panned.

"Anyway," Troy continued, "say we actually got talking and, well, hit it off. Is that...acceptable?"

Chad snapped his fingers. "You're asking for Jason, aren't you? I was right! I always knew he had a thing for that Kelsey girl-"

"Kelsey's not one of the mathletes," Troy dismissed suddenly, "she's the head pianist in the drama club."

Chad raised a brow. "How do you know that?"

Troy widened his eyes upon his mistake. "Oh, no! I just know her from...school?"

Chad frowned. "Whatever, dude. You're being weird."

"Yeah, sorry, man. Forget I ever said anything."

"And in answer to your question: no, we can't be friends." He took a big bite out of his red apple. "That, Troy," he whispered, would be suicide."

He picked up his basketball magazine again.

"Social suicide."

Troy gulped. ''Right. Yeah, of course.''

Chad continued reading.

''Uh...dude?''

Chad raised his gaze and glared. ''What?''

''I, uh..can't make it to practice today.''

He slammed his magazine down, much to the surprise of the people on the surrounding tables, and leaned forward.

''What?'' he hissed. ''You can't miss practice! Have you forgotten that we lost to Westfield last week? The tension between our two schools are at an all-time high and you can't afford to miss practice.''

Troy panicked. ''Dude, I know! But listen, uh...change of plan. My mom wants me to...drive up to Santa Fe to...visit my aunt. She's had a nasty accident and we need to make sure she's okay.''

''Your aunt?'' Chad frowned. ''I thought she lived in New York.''

Troy blinked. ''This is my...other aunt.''

''You said you only have one aunt.''

Troy licked his lips and thought for a moment. ''What I meant to say was my...uncle?''

Chad kept looking at Troy in a suspicious manner and sighed. ''Fine. You can skip just this once. But no more. Okay?''

Troy smiled. ''Of course. No more.''

* * *

Taylor examined the contents of her locker, her hands rummaging through various books and folders.

''Right...'' she muttered. ''Should I take the _Easy Beginner's Guide to Grade A Chemistry_ or _Wow! Learn Chemistry in Two Weeks!_ with me?''

It was the end of the school day, and Taylor was due to arrive at Sue Danforth's house in a couple of hours to begin her tutoring sessions. She was a little bit nervous - sure, as leader of the science club, Taylor had had her fair share of teaching others her passion of chemistry, no problem; but this wasn't a high schooler who shared her enthusiasm for scientific molecules so much that they'd meet up with her once a week to discuss alkaline earth metals - no, this was an 11-year-old child who hated chemistry so much that she was failing it.

 _''Don't be nervous! You realise how clever you are, right?''_

 _''Yeah, Tay! Sue couldn't have chosen a more suitable tutor.''_

Gabriella and Kelsi's words from lunch played in her head. She groaned. Grabbing a thick book from the depths of her locker, she dusted it off and sighed.

'' _Chemistry 101 for Science Enthusiasts_ ,'' she scanned the front cover, ''this will do.''

''Ew. Did you hear what she just said, girls?''

Taylor looked up and saw no other than the giggling Emily Hayton and her posse of skinny cheerleaders behind her.

''Yeah, something about chemistry, gross.''

''What a geek.''

Taylor managed a smile and snapped her locker shut.

''Hi, Emma. Or was it Erin?''

Emily scoffed and flicked her hair behind her shoulder.

''It's E-mi-ly. Emily. We went through this yesterday.''

Taylor raised a brow and put her finger to her chin, pretending to be deep in thought.

''Yesterday? I don't remember talking to you yesterday.''

''In the photo line, stupid,'' Emily bit back.

''Nope, sorry,'' she shrugged. ''I don't talk to bitchy cheerleaders.''

The cheerleaders all gasped and glared daggers at Taylor, who was looking as though she was bored to death.

''You know,'' a brunette came forward and pointed a finger at Taylor, ''you should worship the ground we walk on. We are pretty, hot, and all the guys in school want _us,_ not you.''

The rest of the cheerleaders looked Taylor up and down and laughed.

''Please, no boy would ever go for her.''

''What is that outfit? So lame.''

Emily smiled. ''You hear that, Taylor? We are the ones that get all the boy attention.''

Taylor blinked and few times, almost stupefied by the crap that were coming out of their mouths, before regaining her composure and clearing her throat.

''I like how you say that like it's a good thing.''

Blondie Cheerleader #2 laughed. ''What are you talking about?''

Taylor shrugged. ''It's just that you all think the basketball players are Gods when, in reality, they're just a bunch of sweaty guys running around a court with some big bouncy ball. Hardly cool.''

''Oh my god, how dare-''

''Aaaand they're not even that hot. How long does the career of a high-school basketball player last? Two years? Maybe three? Then what? They sit at home all day, fat and in their thirties, reliving their teen years. Sorry, guys, I'm not jealous one bit.''

''Oh...oh...oh no she didn't!''

''Is this girl okay?''

''Emily, say something!''

Emily screeched. ''Ugh! You are just SO jealous that I am semi-almost-nearly going out with one of the hottest basketball players in the whole school.''

''Honey,'' Taylor looked her dead in the eye, ''I would rather set myself on fire and fuck a cactus than even look at the dumbass basketball player you're seemingly obsessed with. Maybe tell this to someone who actually cares.''

Emily's face went white.

''C-come on, girls, let's go. I don't have time for this weirdo!''

Taylor watched in delight as the four cheerleaders scurried off in fright, their skirts flying as they hurried to exit the hallway.

''Finally,'' she sighed, ''they got the message.'' She turned to her locker and let out a deep sigh.

''That was very impressive, Taylor.''

Taylor whipped round and found herself staring at a number of unfamiliar students walking up and down the hallway.

''Uh?''

''Over here.''

She watched as a (dare she admit it) fairly handsome boy closed his locker (conveniently, right next to hers) and extended his hand.

''You're Taylor, right? I overheard them talking to you.''

She looked him up and down and shook his hand gingerly. Nope, didn't belong to the science or math clubs.

''Yeah, I am. And you are?''

''Jasper Lorenzini,'' he replied, sensing her confusion. ''I just transferred here.''

Taylor raised a brow. That would explain why she hadn't seen him around before. ''Oh, from which school?''

He seemed to hesitate, nervousness flaring in his eyes.

She squinted her eyes suspiciously. "Well?"

''Well..." he began reluctantly, almost as though he was supposed to keep it top secret.

"Are you going to give me an answer?"

"...Westfield High.'' He said eventually, bracing himself for her reaction.

She looked at him weirdly. She was vaguely aware that East High and Westfield had ongoing rivalry sports wise, but Westfield High couldn't even touch East High's science club.

She smiled.

''Oh. I see. Anyway, welcome. I'm sorry that you had to witness something so stupid on your first week here.''

He blinked. "That's your reaction?"

She raised a brow. "Huh?"

What was this guy expecting? She hardly looked like the sporty type, especially after that public dispute with the cheerleaders.

"I mean," he began, "your school isn't really on good terms with Westfield right now."

"How come?" she said, her voice laced with curiosity.

"Well, East High lost to Westfield high at the basketball-"

"Oh, God." she interrupted, feeling another headache coming on, "PLEASE stop. Basketball is the last thing I care about."

He laughed in amusement and surprise. "Oh, I see. You're into chemistry, right?'' he gestured towards the book in her arms.

She looked down and laughed sheepishly. ''Yeah, well, I am the leader of the science club at East High.''

''Wow,'' he smiled, ''impressive.''

''Thanks. I'm not really into the whole sports thing, which is why I went off on those cheerleaders. Sorry that you had to see that."

''No, no,'' he laughed, ''it was quite impressive. I've never seen someone stand up to the cheerleaders like that before. It made me very happy.''

''Oh, right.'' Taylor replied. ''Were the cheerleaders just as bitchy back at your old school, then?''

''Not to me, no. But yes.''

Taylor looked him up and down suspiciously. They probably were nice to him because he was - dare she admit it aloud - rather good looking. Dark brown eyes, a nice tan, and golden blonde hair.

She shook her head and clutched her book closer to her body.

''It was nice talking to you. I have to go now.''

He looked around at the onslaught of students rushing down the hallway to get home and looked back at Taylor. ''Alright, I'll see you around. Taylor.''

She quickly smiled and walked off, her heart beating a little faster than usual. Sure, she had male friends, but they never went past exchanging mathematical calculations or chemical equations in the classroom. Also, Taylor couldn't help but notice how handsome this boy was - much more handsome than most boys in East High, never mind the measly mathletes in her friendship circle.

''Whatever,'' she muttered under her breath, ''the cheerleaders can have him.''

She hurriedly made her way out of school and speed-walked as fast as she could home.

She had a quick bite to eat before reading over her chemistry notes, packing extra pens and pencils into her pencil case before she left the house.

''Do you need a ride, honey?''

Taylor looked at her watch and shook her head. ''No, it's alright, mom. It's only a twenty-minute walk.''

''Okay, honey. You be safe now.''

Taylor nodded and grabbed her coat.

The twenty minute walk passed quickly as she used her phone to look for the address. Apparently, this Sue Danforth lady seemed to be wealthy - Taylor found herself wandering through a rich neighbourhood with white houses and huge iron gates. Each house had at least two luxury sports cars in their drive.

Soon enough, Taylor stood outside the door of a large, expensive looking house, hand poised on the knocker.

Talk about feeling out of place.

''Here goes nothing.''

 _Knock Knock!_

A few seconds passed before she heard the faint call of ''Just a moment!''

Waiting patiently in the darkness of the evening, she glanced round at the front garden.

 _A blue Mercedes-Benz._

 _Wow._ She thought. _This family is made of money._

''Hello, Taylor!''

She quickly reverted her gaze to the front door, which was now occupied by a very happy-looking Sue.

''Hello, Sue.''

''Oh, do come in!''

Taylor quickly shrugged off her coat and followed her into the house.

 _Woah._

The first thing that caught her attention was the massive glass chandelier that hung in the middle of the ceiling.

''Now, I'll show you to Bethany's room now. Do you need a glass of water or anything?''

Taylor snapped out of admiring the marble staircase and cleared her throat. ''Uh...no, thank you. I'm fine.''

''Alright, then,'' Sue smiled, ''follow me.''

Taylor followed her up the grand staircase and into the large hallway on the second floor.

''That's Bethany's room down there.''

Sue led Taylor past a number of bedroom doors, suddenly stopping at a door on the left.

''This is my son's room,'' she said, pointing to the blue door frame. ''He's around your age. How old are you, sweet?''

''Seventeen,'' Taylor replied, eyeing the door up and down.

''Really? Goodness, so is my son! What school are you at?''

Taylor blinked. ''I'm at East-''

''Mommy! Is that my new tutor?''

Taylor and Sue turned to find Bethany staring intently at them from her bedroom door, which was now wide open.

''Yes, honey, meet Taylor.''

Taylor awkwardly waved. ''Hi, Bethany. I'm Taylor.''

''Awww, she's pretty, mommy!''

Taylor blushed as Sue laughed, patting Taylor on the back.

''See? She likes you already, Taylor.''

Taylor laughed nervously; socialising with 11-year-old girls was not her forte.

''I need to head downstairs and finish some work off now. Taylor, I'll come get you when it's 8:30, alright?''

''Sure. Thanks.''

Sue gave Taylor a reassuring pat on the back and made her way to the staircase. Taylor turned her gaze back onto Bethany and walked in the direction of her bedroom.

''Hey, Bethany,'' she said, opening her bag to grab some textbooks and pens out. ''Ready to learn about chemistry?''

She crinkled her nose and flopped down onto one of the chairs by the desk. ''No, not really, but mommy says I have to.''

Taylor chuckled. ''Well, she's right. Chemistry is actually a lot of fun!''

Bethany leaned forward and stared at Taylor intensely. Taylor cleared her throat and sat herself down into the seat next to Bethany, unzipping her pencil case.

''Everything alright, Bethany?''

Bethany shook her head. ''I'm okay. I'm just thinking about how pretty you are.''

Taylor blushed - it wasn't often she'd get complimented on her looks - her brains outweighed her appearance by miles - looks were the last things on people's minds when they found out she won the 2003 Junior Chemistry Award in the whole USA. Still, whenever someone _did_ compliment her in the beauty department, she still found it hard to react normally - especially when said compliments were coming from an 11-year-old child.

''My brother would like you.''

Taylor blinked at the sudden comment from the young girl and nodded her head slowly.

''Right,'' she said awkwardly, ''that's...nice.''

''You'll see him later. He's out at the moment.''

Taylor fluttered her eyelashes in amusement and laughed. ''Okay,'' she replied, opening her textbook to page 56, ''but chemical compounds first, okay?''

* * *

Teaching Bethany was a lot simpler than she'd originally thought. The young girl listened attentively, although sometimes she'd stare out into space (probably thinking about shopping). All in all, Taylor found her rather fun to teach.

''So, are you coming back to teach me?'' Bethany asked as she walked besides Taylor down the hallway.

''Yes, I am. Your mom wants me to come twice a week,'' Taylor replied.

''Oh, well, today is Tuesday. Will you be coming tomorrow?''

Taylor and Bethany descended down the stairs. ''I think your mom wanted me to come on Friday.''

Bethany's eyes lit up. ''Ooh, I can't wait!''

Both girls reached the bottom of the staircase and Sue was nowhere to be seen.

''Wait here, I'm going to tell your mom I'm leaving, okay?''

''Okay!''

Taylor smiled at the young girl and carefully opened the door to the living room, following the sounds of the noise from the kitchen as her guide.

Walking slowly through the living room, she looked round at the many photos that lined the lavender walls.

 _Bethany's 8th Birthday Party. Sue's Wedding Day. Sue's Childhood photo. Bethany's Grade 4 school photo. Random dude-_

Taylor stopped suddenly and carefully looked at the photo that had caught her attention. The photo showed a young man, probably around her age, posing with a tennis racket and standing next to whom she believed to be his dad.

 _This must be the brother Bethany was talking about._

She walked down a little further and found another one of him, only this time holding a soccer ball on the beach. A holiday photo, perhaps.

Taylor glanced at the boy's features once more. Yes, she was handsome - she'd admit that, but nothing else particularly seemed to catch her attention. All in all, Bethany's family had good genes. That was all.

Following the sound of the running tap once more, Taylor pushed open the door and found Sue washing lettuce in the sink.

''Hi, Sue. I've finished with Bethany for today.''

Sue looked up and stopped mid-wash. ''Oh, I totally lost track of time! Sorry, Taylor.''

Taylor waved her hands. ''No, no, it's alright. Bethany had a good time learning, surprisingly.''

Sue raised her eyebrows. ''You don't say. That girl hates studying like a cat hates water.''

Taylor giggled. ''Well, she did very well today.''

''Excellent. Now, see that envelope on the kitchen counter? That's your money, sweet.''

Taylor nodded and went to retrieve the envelope that was lying next to the fruit bowl. ''Thank you, Sue.''

''Let me just wash my hands and see you out.''

''Oh, no need!'' Taylor said as she stuffed the money into the backpack, ''it's fine. I'll show myself out.''

''You sure? Alright, dear. I shall see you on Friday,'' Sue replied as she grabbed another lettuce from the drainer bowl.

Taylor waved to her and hastily walked out of the kitchen and living room; it was almost 9pm, and the sky was getting dark.

She sighed, zipping her bag open to grab her phone. Fishing around for the device, her eyes widened as she realised she forgot to check whether she had any homework due next week.

''Oh gosh,'' she whispered, pulling out her homework diary and scanning the contents, ''how could I forget about next week's homework?''

* * *

Chad was tired and hungry. After a three hour basketball session, all he wanted to do was to get home and eat his mother's homemade meatloaf.

 _Ping!_

He looked down at his phone.

 _You have 1 new message._

Chad opened his phone up and clicked the notification.

 _Heyyyyy Chad baby, it's Emily. Don't forget about our date tonight! 9pm, see you there xoxo_

His eyes widened.

Holy shit, he had totally forgot.

Fuckity fuck fuck fuck.

He looked at the time on his phone.

 _8:47pm._

Holy crap, he was going to be in so much trouble (and nagging) for the rest of the year if he didn't make it on time.

He clicked his phone shut and legged it for the last couple of yards, slamming his key into the front door and dropping his basketball on the floor.

''Hey, Chad!''

Bethany was already standing by the door when Chad hurriedly rushed in, quickly removing his East High basketball shirt and throwing on a brown hoodie that happened to be draped on the edge of the stairwell.

''Hey, baby girl,'' he poked her cheek, ''what's up?''

''My new tutor came by today!'' she giggled excitedly.

''Really?'' he casually replied, walking into the coat closet and looking round for clothes to wear. ''She nice?''

''Uh-uh!'' Bethany chirped and followed him into the closet. ''She's super pretty.''

Chad picked up an old pair of jeans and shrugged. It'd have to do.

Turning to leave, he accidentally knocked something over.

''Woah,'' he said as he watched an old volleyball roll out from the lamp. ''I thought I threw that out ages ago.'' He picked it up and dusted it off. ''Well, I could still use this, I guess. What do you think, Bethany?''

He turned and found his little sister glaring at him, arms folded.

He blinked. ''What?''

''I said, she's super pretty!''

''Uh-uh,'' he nonchalantly said, holding the jeans out and examining them.

'Uh...where are you going?''

Chad paused. ''...nowhere. Just meeting Troy.''

Bethany frowned. ''But didn't you have training with him just now?''

''No. He missed it,'' Chad quickly said, walking out of the closet, ''I just have to give him back something I borrowed, that's all. Nothing major-''

The sound of the living room door opening caught his attention.

* * *

She bit her lip as she scanned the contents of her homework diary - she couldn't believe she missed an English homework that was due in next Thursday!

 _I'm going to have to write it tomorrow._

''Taylor!''

Taylor looked up from her homework diary and found herself standing in front of Bethany and...

''This is my brother I was talking about.''

Taylor slowly shifted her eyes towards the tall figure standing behind Bethany. A boy with a bemused smile on his face stared back.

''Hi,'' he said. ''I'm Chad.''

Oh. So this was the boy from the photographs.

She ran her eyes along his brown curls.

He was better looking in person, she'd give him that, and his smile wasn't bad either. She narrowed her eyes at the volleyball wedged underneath his toned arm.

Part of a volleyball team, perhaps?

''Hi.'' She replied. ''Taylor.''

''She's the tutor I was talking about,'' Bethany said proudly, ''isn't she pretty?''

She didn't mind volleyball players. The volleyball club at East High were nice people-

Wait, _what?_

Taylor widened her eyes and gripped onto her diary a bit harder. She looked at Chad, then back at Bethany, and then at Chad, who just smiled again.

A few seconds of awkward silence passed.

 _Great. I don't need this guy's opinion anyway, I know I'm pretty so-_

''Yeah, you're right Bethany,'' he ruffled her hair, ''she is.''

A pause.

Taylor could've sworn her mouth dropped to the floor.

 _..oh?_

''I told you!"' Bethany cried excitedly.

Taylor quickly wiped the traces of surprise off her face and cleared her throat - she knew she was attractive, so of course he said yes. Nothing serious. Just a nice boy stating the obvious.

She sneaked another glance at his smile.

...so why was her heart all of a sudden beating like crazy?

 _Come on, Taylor. Don't get nervous. Don't get nervous. Distract yourself. Look at...the wall behind him. Oh, yes. What a nice wall. That is a very nice wall indeed._

She stuffed her diary in her bag and smiled. ''I need to go. See you, guys.''

And with that, Taylor uncharacteristically made a dash for the front door as though someone was chasing her with an iron crowbar. As she shuffled past Chad, she swore he looked at her dead in the eyes, but she made such an effort to keep her eyes locked to the front that she ignored it completely and just prayed to the Gods she could make it out of there in less than 5 seconds.

* * *

''...how could I forget about next week's homework?''

''Taylor!''

A girl with long dark hair, dressed simply in a blue polo shirt and pink skirt came out, clutching a planner in her hand and face deep in thought. Well, deep in thought until Bethany suddenly shouted her name. Then it was just shock.

Chad held back a laugh.

''This is my brother I was talking about.''

Chad glanced down at Bethany. He knew she talked about him to everyone whenever he got the opportunity. Turning his gaze back onto the girl, who still looked mildly shocked, he smiled.

''Hi.''

He studied her face. Doe-like eyes, button nose and plump lips. She was pretty cute.

''I'm Chad.''

Her expression wavered, and Chad raised a brow when she stared at him, then at the volleyball under his arm, then at him again before uttering a simple: ''Hi. Taylor.''

Chad studied her face. How old was this girl, same age as him? Sixteen? Maybe even seventeen?

''She's the tutor I was talking about. Isn't she pretty?''

Taylor's eyes widened slightly, but he could tell she tried to play it off as disinterest.

Smiling, he ruffled his sister's hair. He then lifted his eyes to peak at the girl, who looked as though she was trying hard not to leg it out of there.

Chad stared at her, trying to figure out what clique she looked like she belonged to. The drama club? No, she seemed kind of quiet. The preppies? He eyed her simple outfit of jeans and a top, noting she had a nice figure. She was dressed normally. Or God forbid...the science geeks? Her long eyelashes fluttered as she looked around. Nah, she was way too pretty.

Either way, it wouldn't hurt if he told the truth; after all, she didn't go to his school.

''Yeah, you're right, Bethany. She is.''

Bethany smiled. ''I told you!''

Taylor simply looked up, then back at the wall behind him, then away again.

Was there something interesting on the wall behind him? He began to turn around-

''I need to go, see you guys.''

She quickly ran past him, and as he turned away to grab his coat, something caught his attention.

He turned back to look at her.

 _This scent..._

He examined her profile and breathed in ever so slightly.

 _Roses._

He frowned.

 _How familiar._

And just like that, she was gone. The only thing that her existence left behind was the faint smell of flowers and his heart beating rapidly.

''Lovely, she's so lovely!'' Bethany sung as she bounded upstairs. ''Lovely, lovely...''

He paused, trying to force himself to calm his heart rate. Chad, vice-captain of the basketball team, actually getting nervous around his little sister's tutor?

Chad spent another few seconds trying to decipher the familiarity of the smell before another vibration of his phone indicated he had a new message.

 _You have 1 new message!_

 _Chad! I'm here now, waiting for you by the popcorn machine...Emily xxx_

Holy crap, he had completely forgotten - again.

Quickly tying his converse up, he texted his mother something about meeting up with Troy and coming home later and made a dash for the door.

* * *

Once she was outside and shut the front door behind her, she let out a deep breath.

''Taylor...don't go all weird and nervous just because someone's attractive brother says you're pretty!'' she reprimanded herself. ''He probably has a girlfriend anyway.''

She cleared her throat and began to slowly walk the remaining distance towards her house, her cheeks returning to a normal colour.

 _Ring ring!_

She rummaged round in her bag and answered her phone.

''Hello, Taylor speaking.''

 _''Tay! It's Gabi.''_

''Gabi?' What's up. I'm on the way home from tutoring.''

 _''Ooh, how did it go?''_

Taylor shrugged. ''Alright. The little girl is a fast learner.''

She decided to leave the bit where her insanely good-looking brother called her pretty out.

 _''That's good to hear.''_

''Yeah. Anyways, did you need something?''

 _''...well...''_

Taylor waited. ''Well?''

 _''You know how you said don't go on a study date with Troy...''_

Taylor stopped in her tracks. ''Don't tell me.''

 _''No, listen!''_

''Gabi! What did I tell you!''

 _''Listen, Taylor! Here's the weird thing - we didn't get any studying done at all!''_

Taylor frowned. ''What?''

 _''Well...we went to that coffee shop near the mall-''_

''Jumpstart Bistro?''

 _''Yes! That one. Anyway, we got our books out but we just ended up talking for the whole three hours.''_

Taylor gasped. '' _Three hours_! No way, Gabi.''

 _''Yeah. So...I don't know what's happening, but I feel all giddy.''_

''Oh, God.'' Taylor slapped her forehead. ''You're starting to like him.''

Silence on the other end of the phone.

''I can't believe it, Gabi.''

 _''Taylor, please! Just give it a chance. Besides, I don't even know if he likes me back - I could be nothing more than a friend to him.''_

''Right, because a basketball lunk-head befriends all the mathletes. Get real, Gabi! We both know you're beautiful, intelligent, and any boy would be lucky to have you. I'm just...disappointed you chose...ugh, Troy Bolton.''

 _''No, Taylor, nothing's certain yet. All I know is that I think I like him. That's all. He probably doesn't even like me.''_

Taylor thought for a while. ''Well, are you seeing him again?''

Gabriella paused. _''Yes. He invited me out to dinner on Friday.''_

Taylor let out a deep sigh. ''Whatever, Gabi. You're a grown girl, I can't control you. I can only warn you that those jocks are never nice people. If you get hurt, it's your own fault.''

 _''So...''_ Gabriella began, giggling, _''does that mean I have your approval?''_

Taylor sighed again and let out a small laugh. ''Whatever makes you happy, Gabi. Just be careful, okay?''

 _''I will, don't worry, Taylor!''_

Taylor nodded. ''Anyways, got to go now. I still have to get home.''

 _''Alright, bye!''_

Taylor snapped the phone shut and stared out into the darkness.

What the hell had Gabriella gotten herself into?

* * *

He could've gone without watching a god-awful chick flick, but there was no way Emily was going to back down.

He checked his phone.

 _10:45pm._

It was getting late, and he and Emily were snuggled up in a booth at the diner next to the cinema.

''Oh my god, like, the girl in the film was, like, so pretty, I guess,'' Emily said, taking a sip of her (fat-free) water, ''but, like, I am SO much hotter. Why didn't they cast me?''

Chad picked up another french fry. ''Uh-uh.''

''So you agree, too?'' she giggled. ''I am really hot, right?''

He glanced at her and slowly nodded, shuddering at what the outcome would be if he said no. ''Yeah, babe.''

''Oh, right, I have something to, like, tell you.''

''Yeah?'' he took a sip out of his soda.

''Okay, so,'' she flicked her hair behind her shoulders, ''remember that annoying science club girl I was, like, talking about?''

Chad paused. He didn't remember much of what Emily said - it was all bitching and complaining. Plus, he didn't really care what she said half the time - she was just hot to look at. ''Remind me again?''

''You know, the one I was talking about yesterday!'' She rolled her eyes. ''Anyway, that very same girl pissed me off, like, today. Again!''

He nodded and stared into the distance.

''Like, I'm so mad I can't even remember her name right now but, like, she was so annoying!''

''Right.''

''So, I'm, like, with my cheerleader friends and everything, and she pulls out this chemistry book!'' she giggled and latched onto his arm. ''I mean, talk about lame.''

He agreed, that was lame.

''And she said that I was stupid for liking a basketball player! I mean, how rude!''

Chad looked at her. ''She said that?''

''Yeah! I mean, it's probably because she isn't even pretty. Just jealous. I mean, how can anyone not be jealous of me?''

''Wait,'' Chaid said, ''you said she was part of the science club?''

Emily pouted and nodded.

''Figures,'' he snorted. ''They're just jealous, babe.''

''I know,'' she cuddled up closer to him and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

''If it makes you feel better,'' he whispered, ''I wouldn't be caught dead within a mile-long radius of those science geeks.''

''I know,'' Emily giggled, ''and that's why you're dating me. Not them.''

* * *

 **A/N: hope you all enjoyed chapter 2, if any one you have plot suggestions, feel free to leave it in the review :-)**


End file.
